Some basic big lies of the Greek crisis

by system failure

Some big lies-cliché used by various centers in Greece and abroad, are aiming to serve specific interests and disorientate public opinion. Among the most frequently used big lies are:

Big Lie No1: Exit from the euro currency. It is perhaps the most widely used lie from the bank-controlled centers in Greece and abroad since the beginning of the crisis. It is used extensively up to this moment as the top “argument” of intimidation. It is accompanied by highly catastrophic scenarios and seems that it had limited success in the recent Greek elections. It is directly connected to the threat of bankruptcy of the country and the threat of the domino-case across the eurozone. It is used professionally from the fully controlled media, with successive assurances from journalists, technocrats and government officials, that there is no matter of Greek exit from euro, among which are inserted every so often supposed “leaks” about potential exit, in order to keep the public opinion under a bullying uncertainty hostage, and also, to encourage speculative games, in which, many of these systemic parrots participate.

However, it seems that this so frequently used lie, is loosing power, as many – exhausted from the cruel austerity measures – individuals, are viewing the return to the domestic currency, and the benefits that this will possibly bring, as an opportunity and not as a disaster, as long as this return may come through a well organized plan.

Big Lie No2: The rich must pay. Numerous factors, from journalists to government officials in Greece and abroad, have used this lie, through various, similar phraseology, to calm the public anger, giving the impression that they have no intention to defend the interests of the big capital. As an example, we can recall the recent statements of Juncker and Merkel, which now sound clearly hypocritical, and they are essentially a definite deceit, since so far, only the small and middle incomes are paying the crisis, through repeated cuts in pensions and wages. It is essentially, an old-fashioned “publicrelationing” tactic for the appeasement of the masses.

At the same time, governments are supposedly looking for the big tax-fraudsters in Swiss banks, despite any evidence they may have in their hands (Falsiani case), but in the end, they are making simple calls to the tax-fraudsters, to return the money in each country enjoying favorable treatment as reward, while the banks continue to be fueled with liquidity at the expense of taxpayers.

Meanwhile, the government repeatedly announces new austerity measures with further cuts in pensions and wages, with gradual disappearance of the welfare state, and when these measures will be formally passed, the servants of the neoliberalism, will come out to state once again, that they realize that the majority is paying the price, and that is time for the rich to pay too. The same deceit again and again.  

Big Lie No3: Recapitalization of the banks. It is promoted extensively by the media and the economists of the “new economy” – under any capacity (specialists or non specialists - analysts on TV to finance ministers) – almost as a matter of life and death for the survival of economy. Although banks have received billions of bailout packages – even before the arrival of the global economic crisis in Greece, considering that the government under Karamanlis administration has given 28 billion euros to the banks for a start – the recapitalization of banks is always a major issue, preparing the public for a new round of bailout packages at the expense of taxpayers. 

Of course, according to the rules of the free market, no one dares to ask or to check where all these billions go to, how they are managed by the banks. The state only intervenes to save banks and not checking even the slightest term of their financing. Any government officials and systemic journalists, are playing very well their roles, by pointing the finger at bankers who do not care to provide loans from all this liquidity they receive to stimulate the real economy. Besides, Barack Obama did the same, when in the peak of the crisis, higher bank executives and golden boys, defiantly shared nearly 20 billions in bonuses from the bailout packages. Therefore, the freeze of loaning, is perhaps the only charge of the bank-occupied media to the banks, hiding their enormous responsibilities and their key role on the crisis.

While under the rules of classical capitalism, only the healthy and the properly functioning businesses survive, banks are excluded from these rules.  Those who survive, are the ones that have access to government funding, while also eliminate their competitors, become “Too Big to Fail”, keeping the entire national economy under hostage. The recent scandalous “sell” of the healthy part of the public Agrotiki bank to the private Piraeus bank is only an example.   

In fact, bank recapitalization means only one thing: higher government debt and deficit which the future generations will be called to pay.

Lie No4: Securing the deposits. It is directly connected to Lie No3 and used as the basic argument for the continuous feeding of banks with liquidity and guarantees. As the majority of people keep deposits in Greek banks, they accept the necessity of the bank recapitalization, in order to keep their deposits safe. However, this is a highly misleading argument that the media serve on permanent basis, since the key shareholders and golden boys of the banks who are managing freely the billions of the bailout packages, they only care to secure their personal excessive earnings and reserves of their banks in any case.    

In reality, no one can guarantee deposits, since in the case of a general panic and possible bank run, the bank declares bankruptcy while key shareholders have already secured their capitals at the European Central Bank or other Swiss banks. Deposits disappear and junior staff employees lose their jobs. Which means that, the “securing of jobs” as the basic argument provided by the governor of the Bank of Greece George Provopoulos, and the Minister of Finance Yannis Stournaras, in the case of “selling” Agrotiki to Piraeus bank, is another big lie.

But it seems that, the big lies that the various centers provide daily to control public opinion, begin to loose their power, as the reality experienced by the citizens under the unbearable austerity measures, is more powerful and painful.